


Coffee and Kira

by K (Thiswasmydesign)



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, M/M, Porn With Plot, light funds kira with coffee and cake, oh the irony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 05:40:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13827687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiswasmydesign/pseuds/K
Summary: Even L couldn't stay cooped up all the time. Once a week, L would take a trip down to his favourite coffee shop. Light happens to get a job at the same place to earn some extra money.The one where Light and L already knew each other because Light is a barista at L’s favourite coffee shop.Another very happy birthday story for Light's birthday today 28/2/18





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> In addition to [The Other Half of Me ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13795752%20which%20) which is Light’s proper birthday present, I also wrote this one. I was holding it back for a day I wasn’t feeling very inspired, but since it’s Light’s birthday, I’m posting this too. Have fun :)
> 
> I actually plan to put up the whole short story tonight, or at least the first couple of chapters, so if you're reading just now check again later on because there should be more soon. I'm just doing a final edit through.

“What can I get for you today?

Light had only been working at this branch of Starbucks for two weeks, but the customers already adored him. His friendly smile, warm manner and easy recognition of their faces and names had won over even the most awkward of customers.

All except this one.

It was difficult for Light to be civil when someone insisted on coming into the shop barefoot.

If the man had been homeless he could understand it. He would have just taken them into the shop next door – a charity shop, since on a minimum wage salary he wouldn’t be able to afford the other shops in this neighbourhood, which were all high end. He would have bought them socks and shoes and made sure that they didn’t have to go around with cold, dirty bare feet.

However, this man turned up every week in a wrinkled but clean loose fitting white top and blue jeans, with his bare feet. Other than his feet he was clean, though his hair remained unbrushed, and his slouched posture emphasised his lack of care for the odd looks he would always get. He also sat with those filthy feet on the chair, crouching oddly.

“Double expresso in a medium cup,” this odd man had ordered the last three times he had visited the shop. Light had taken note of his order, like everyone else’s. He only asked out of hope that the order would change from the disgusting concoction he had seen the man drink before.

“Would you prefer to put the sugars in yourself, Sir?” Light asked, having noticed the way the man would pile in the sweetener until the drink was more a treacle than a liquid. With an impatient scowl, he glanced up.

The man at the table did a double take, and Light realised absently that this was the first time the odd man had actually looked at him. He was always on his phone or computer or flicking through paperwork.

“Well, if you think you can handle it,” for such a strange looking figure, there was an intelligence and discernment in his gaze that Light had not expected. He looked back to his work, but as he walked away Light could practically feel the man’s eyes watching him.

Light made the coffee, vigorously stirring in the eight white sugar sachets and the nine brown sugar. Even when he constantly stirred it seemed to precipitate out. It was frustrating, but he had never seen the man stir more than a few times so it would always be grainy.

He took the drink to the table, resisting temptation to glance over the man’s shoulder to see what he was reading so intensely. The strange man sniffed at the coffee, stirred it with a finger and licked it off his finger with the very tip of his long tongue.

“Not bad,” he sounded disproportionately impressed. “What’s your name again?”

“Light Yagami,” Light told him. Ah well, at least by being polite to this strange man would get him a better tip.

“Light,” the man focused his attention on the seventeen-year-old for the first time. Light was startled by how large his eyes looked with those black bags under them. “Weekend job?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a university student?”

“High school,” Light told him. “I’m seventeen.”

“Ah, you still have your whole life ahead of you,” the man grinned, a sweet childlike smile. “Have you decided what to do with it?”

“I’m planning to be an investigator with the NPA,” Light told him honestly. “Follow in my dad’s footsteps.”

“A detective?”

“Yes,” Light shrugged. “I’d like to help make the world a safer place.”

“Are you competitive?”

“A little, I guess,” Light understated.

“Good,” the man nodded. “You need to be. You have to want to win.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience?”

“Yes,” the man told him. He held out a business card between two pinching fingers. “Private detective Rue Ryuzaki. It’s good to meet you.”

Light took the card, plain black; a name and a phone number. Against his better judgement (because, even if he was a detective, Ryuzaki was weird) he slid the card into his pocket and smiled.

“It’s good to meet you too.”

* * *

 

Light would have preferred not to work on his birthday, but it was a Saturday and he needed the money now more than ever, having spent so much of his savings on the miniature television.

At least at work there was a television on in the café at all times, letting him catch the names and faces of criminals whose deaths he could schedule between customers on his loose sheet of death note paper.

Ryuzaki was back, for the first time in weeks, walking through the door like he hadn’t been away. His bare feet couldn’t have been comfortable in the cold February weather. He trailed in the damp from outside, and Light shamelessly instructed another of the employees to fetch the mop. He was loud enough that Ryuzaki would hear, but it was in jest. The detective did have something of a sense of humour, at least where Light was concerned.

Light was manager of the café now, but Ryuzaki still insisted on having his coffee made by Light alone. He insisted that only Light got it right every time.

Light made the coffee without taking the regular customer’s order, knowing what it would be. He took it to him personally, curious to see if he could catch a glance at the computer screen and identify any other names for his Death Note.

As he placed it on the table, Ryuzaki glanced up. Generally, this meant he wanted to order a cake of some form.

“What can I get you?” Light asked politely, trying to glance at the computer screen from the corner of his eye.

“A second opinion. Sit.”

Oh, well, that was new.

“Ryuzaki, I’m working,” Light huffed, not keen to engage the strange man in any protracted conversation.

“And I’m a paying customer, and I’m asking you to sit,” Ryuzaki pushed out the chair with one foot. “your boss can take it up with me if they like.”

“I am the boss,” Light pointed out the manager label on his tag. It had changed a month ago, but the detective was strangely oblivious for someone so evidently intelligent in other aspects of his life.

“Good, then you have no excuse,” the man turned the computer to face the other chair, looking to Light expectantly. With a heavy sigh, Light sat down.

He had a look through the screen, reading the information about Naomi Misora, the girlfriend of the detective Raye Pember. She had died more than a month ago now, but there had been nothing found of her since she had disappeared. He knew some of this; he certainly knew the solution to the case. Death by Kira, suicide in a way she would not be found, and it seemed that the Note was as reliable as ever.

“How did you get involved with this case?” Light asked curiously. This was a missing person’s case rather than a murder case, but Light noticed that the first line of Ryuzaki’s own notes stated that Misora had been murdered.

“I knew her,” Ryuzaki told him. Light stilled, suspicious, but quickly dismissed the thought. Misora had said she had known L, true, but hundreds of people would have known Misora. She was an FBI agent who had worked with detectives and the police in the area many times.

“Don’t you normally only take cases on commission?” Light wondered, turning the screen back.

“This has been distracting me,” Ryuzaki told him.

If this strange man was L, he wouldn’t have been distracted by something this simple. He would have suspected Kira from the off and continued his case, not procrastinated about something this small, in the grand scheme of things.

Unless this was a test, a trap set for Light. He had been under surveillance for nearly a week, around the clock. The cameras had been removed a while ago now; that should mean he had been cleared.

“Well, it’s not a lot to go on,” Light considered what he would reasonably be able to deduce if he didn’t know the extra information he had. “If you knew her, could you tell me anything about her?”

“Misora was intelligent,” Ryuzaki told him. “Bold, brave, tenacious. Almost stubborn. She has looked death in the face more than once and walked away the victor.”

“If she is as tenacious as you say, and her boyfriend was one of the FBI agents Kira killed, maybe she was doing her own investigation?” Light suggested. “Maybe she got too close.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ryuzaki nodded. “I’m glad that you agree.”

Light remained expressionless under his suspicious gaze.

“Of course, this means if anyone gets close to Kira they are in danger,” Ryuzaki noted. “Not just those on the official investigation.”

“There’s no evidence that Kira would just kill anyone,” Light pointed out. “He’s selective with those he kills – only criminals, and those who are actually getting close to him.”

“He killed all twelve FBI agents,”

“True, but if he had only killed one or a few then it would have been easier to work out which was close to him.”

“Him?”

“Or her,” Light allowed.

“No,” Ryuzaki scooped up some of his treacle like coffee with a finger, lapping it off as he considered. “Kira is male, I am sure of that.”

“Ryuzaki,” Light scowled. “You make it sound like you’re investigating Kira, not your missing friend?”

“I suppose I am,” Ryuzaki shrugged.

“But that’s dangerous,” Light flustered and fussed, playing the concerned friend. “If you succeed and get close to Kira, he could kill you…”

“He would need my name,” Ryuzaki took out a business card, holding it out to Light. Instead of Rue Ryuzaki, it called him Eraldo Coil. “I am using this as an alias – except with you, Light.”

“And your friends?”

“I don’t really have those,” Ryuzaki smiled sweetly. “Except you, perhaps?”

“If you like,” Light allowed, smiling back. Damn. If Ryuzaki died, and anyone else knew that Light was the only one calling him by his real name, he would be caught.

Still, he would have plenty of people from his past that knew it, and why would Ryuzaki have commented to anyone about a simple coffee server at a café?

“I’m pretty sure the other staff all know it, though,” Light looked apologetic.

“You talk about me?” Ryuzaki looked hopeful.

“You trail in mess with those bare feet of yours,” Light told him, “the staff all recognise you. Besides, that ridiculous excuse for coffee you like? They call that the Ryuzaki special.”

“I see.”

“Speaking of which, I really should get back to making coffees, not chatting,” Light excused himself. “I’ll bring you another when you’re done?”

“That would be good,” Ryuzaki nodded. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

In the back of the coffee shop, Light let out a heavy sigh.

He couldn’t take this risk; couldn’t ignore Ryuzaki any longer. Too many of those questions had felt like a test.

Light’s pen hovered over the Death Note page, the face of Rue Ryuzaki in his thoughts.


	2. Courtship

“The usual?”

“With caramel syrup, if you would,” Ryuzaki requested, surprising Light.

“Rough few weeks?”

“That’s one way to describe it,” the detective looked world weary. “You saw the Kira tapes on Sakura TV?”

“Didn’t everyone?” Light huffed. He left Ryuzaki to collect the caramel syrup for the already made coffee.

A second Kira. It had infuriated Light, to know there was someone else out there killing in his name and doing such a terrible job. However, he had quickly realised that this second Kira was impulsive and rash and made mistakes; they would be caught quickly. The message they put out on Sakura TV had been risky, for him, mentioning the Shinigami eyes, but he had held his patience and his pen, waiting.

The Kira task force had pulled through. A young model named Misa Amane had been caught and executed as Kira. The whole process had taken several weeks and Light had been forced to make the trail more obvious for the investigation to follow by stopping his own killings in the meantime, so that he would not confuse the case.

Now that the would-be Kira was caught, Light had to consider how to proceed. If he stopped acting as Kira now, he would be in the clear. There would only ever be one Kira in the eyes of the general public and he could carry on his life and become an investigator.

It wasn’t even an option, not anymore. He was Kira; he would be the God of the New World. To stop over something as silly as this would be foolish.

“So,” he set the coffee down in front of Ryuzaki. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“You’re working,” the odd man pointed out.

“I’m your friend,” Light reminded him. “Besides, as you’ve pointed out before, I’m the boss, I get to choose when I take my breaks.”

“Alright,” L pushed out the opposite chair with his foot. “Before I can tell you this, I must have your word that you will tell no one else.”

“Not a word,” Light promised.

“The first thing you need to know,” Ryuzaki stirred his coffee with his finger, lapping it off as he usually did. “Is that I am L.”

Light knew. He had known for a while now, had become certain on the same day Ryuzaki had sat him down and they spoke about Naomi Misora.

He raised an eyebrow. “I figured.”

“I have been working on catching the second Kira…”

“Second?” Light made sure he looked surprised.

“Yes,” L nodded. “The way Kira operates is very different to this Kira. His killings stopped shortly after hers started. I really didn’t like how the second Kira operated.”

“Kira’s power to kill has always been a bit magical,” Light suggested, “Do you think it could have passed from one person to another?”

“The overlap would suggest otherwise, although it is possible,” L agreed. “I suppose the short version of the story is that we caught her this week, but she can kill without even seeing a person’s face, so she had to be executed, and therefore we are no closer to catching the original Kira than we were before.”

That didn’t add up; even with the Shinigami eyes.

“But I thought Kira needed a face and a name to kill?”

“The first Kira does,” L acknowledged. “This second Kira seemed to suffer serious harm from killing without a name and face; she was crying for hours afterwards, and begged us to kill her after that.”

“Why would she do that?”

“She was talking about Shinigami,” L told him. Light tried to resist glancing at Ryuk, who was watching them looking amused. “And there was a pile of dust in her cell afterwards. I believe whatever this force is that gives Kira their power, there is something that kills it if it harms a human without the Kira knowing at least a face.”

“You think Shinigami are real?” Light was surprised. The detective had seemed so logical he had thought it would be difficult for him to accept the supernatural element in this case.

“It is the most logical conclusion,” L agreed.

“But isn’t this all good news? Kira has been caught, the Shinigami – if it’s real – is gone, and the killings have stopped?”

“They have, for now,” L confirmed. “I believe that it won’t be long before Kira starts killing again. The first Kira, the true Kira.”

“And you’re no closer to catching him?”

“I’m working on getting closer,” L told him, smiling sweetly. “But he’s rather evasive, you see.”

“I’ll bet,” Light thought, wondering how much he could say without giving himself away. He couldn’t resist a little ego boost. “He seems intelligent?”

“Very.”

“As intelligent as you?”

“Perhaps more so,” L admitted reluctantly. “It would take a stroke of luck to ensnare him.”

“You said before, that you didn’t like how the second Kira operated?”

“Indeed.”

“Doesn’t that imply that you like how the first Kira works?”

“I dislike not knowing,” L scowled. “If there is a force for justice out there, I would like to know it, see it for myself.”

“But not stop it?”

“That would depend,” L ran his finger around the inside of his now empty cup, lapping the last of his coffee from his finger, “on what I found when I was close enough to really see him.”

“Shall I get you another coffee?” Light asked, taking the cup. He needed some time to think; he was almost sure that this was a trap.

Almost.

“Hopefully you’ll get that _stroke_ soon,” Light winked, hoping to throw the detective off with the innuendo.

That night Light sat with the Death Note open, the face of L - Rue Ryuzaki – in his thoughts.

He could no more write the name than he could the last time.

 

* * *

 

Kira had been killing again for months.

He no longer paid any attention to the Kira taskforce. They were free to continue their lives for as long as he gave them the right. He had all their names, and their efforts to catch him were clumsy and futile.

Light couldn’t help but think that most of the plans concocted by the task force were too easy to subvert; loopholes left in places where the officers wouldn’t spot them but where Light could spot them as clearly as if a map had been left with compete directions; how to dismantle this scheme.

He couldn’t help but think that, for some reason, L was sabotaging them.

It had been months since L had told him who he was, tried to trick him with the suggestion that he might be supportive of Kira, if he met him and did not find him wanting.

Light was almost beginning to believe him. It was unlike L to play the waiting game, so why would he start now?

A part of him wanted to believe him.

There had been more occasions when L had asked him to sit, when they had spoken over coffee and coffee-treacle. At least once a fortnight, L would discuss something with him; a case he was stuck on, a new Kira theory. The only difference was that now their conversations were filled with subtle innuendo, and Light was curious.

He thought L might be curious, too.

There was something about L that fascinated Light. His sharp mind was obviously interesting and there was even something in the very features he had despised at first in the coffee house that he could see now, even though he couldn’t have described it to anyone else without it coming across as an insult.

In the time that had passed, despite all the failed attempts to identify and catch Kira, L had never seemed at all distressed or frustrated. Sometimes when he was telling Light about how he had been thwarted – again – he almost sounded excited.

They made it all the way to Halloween without L discovering that Light was Kira through any of the taskforce’s silly plots and schemes.

For Halloween, the coffee shop employees were going to wear costumes and use an alias name on their badge for the day. Light had bought a simple bronze masquerade mask and had changed the name on his badge to correspond with his costume for the day.

He was counting on L’s visit.

“Ah, Kira, I’ve found you at last,” the detective chuckled when Light slipped into the seat opposite him, serving him his usual sugar-coffee and taking a sip from his unsweetened black coffee. “It must be my birthday.”

“Yep, you’ve caught me,” Light grinned, joking. “Have you got any handcuffs with you, or am I meant to come quietly?”

L pulled out a set of handcuffs and set them on the table. Light glanced at them, not surprised that L had a set, but more surprised when he saw them. They were not police issue cuffs, but instead made of plastic with gold fur as a lining.

“I wouldn’t expect Kira to _come_ quietly,” L purred. Light couldn’t help but laugh at the attempt at a seductive tone.

“God, L,” Light picked up the handcuffs, studying them and ignoring the curious glances from the other patrons in the shop. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those with a Kira fetish?”

L had noticed the glances, though he allowed Light to keep the cuffs. “Not usually a conversation that would be appropriate, over coffee.”

Light was not one to be bested. The handcuffs, the suggestive attack, almost as soon as he sat down…

“Hey, I’m not one to judge,” Light chuckled. “I make a rather convincing Kira, if you are interested.”

“Oh, I’ll bet,” L sounded serious rather than teasing all of a sudden. “And it is actually my birthday.”

“Well then, coffee’s on me today,” Light offered, surprised. “You should have told me, I’d have got you a present.”

“You still could,” L suggested, taking back the handcuffs that Light had put down on the table.

“Of course, what can I get you?”

“A date.”

Light stilled.

“Well, I’m sure I’ve got some friends I could fix you up with,” he began.

“With you.”

“Oh,” Light frowned. Their innuendos over the last months were intensely flirtatious, but he was certain L had seen him with at least a dozen different girlfriends whilst he worked at the café. He had the option to refuse, if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

“Fine,” Light nodded. He grinned at L. “Tonight, at eight? I’ll pick you up. Bring the handcuffs.”


	3. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira takes L out

Light wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing, picking up L looking like this.

He wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing by picking up L at all.

Even if the date wasn’t a bad idea (it definitely was) and if it wasn’t a trap (it probably was), picking L up from the taskforce headquarters whilst dressed in his best brown suit with the shirt open three buttons down and wearing a bronze mask, with a name badge that said ‘Kira’ on it, would definitely raise at least a few eyebrows.

“Matsuda,” Light nodded to the young detective, trying not to look at all shame faced. The guards at the front entrance had not been willing to send a message up to L to get him to come down. L had already given instructions to have Light brought to the twenty second floor on arrival, and Light was concerned that if he didn’t go under his own steam the guards may just drag him.

He had known this was probably a trap when he had stepped into it, but he wasn’t going to be the one who backed down.

Matsuda was in the corridor when Light stepped out of the lift on the twenty second floor, and gawped at Light with a horrified look.

“Oh, calm down,” Light laughed. “It’s Halloween, and we’re off to a costume party.”

It wasn’t exactly a costume party, but Light wasn’t going to tell Matsuda that.

“Still, Light, don’t you think that’s a bit insensitive?” Matsuda grumbled, but Light noted with surprise that the man was blushing. He decided to take it as a compliment; he did look good. “Especially because it’s L.”

“Don’t you see, that’s why this costume is perfect,” Light grinned. “I’m sure he’s told you that this is a date?”

“He has,” Matsuda avoided his gaze, embarrassed.

“Well, I think L might like to pretend that he’s caught Kira, for tonight,” Light suggested, enjoying making Matsuda squirm. “He has a lovely collection of handcuffs…”

“Stop!” Matsuda yelped, stuffing his hands over his ears. “I really don’t need to know that!”

Light grinned, interpreting Matsuda’s blushes. He pulled Matsuda’s hands away from his ears, leaning in.

“Don’t pretend you’re not picturing it,” he whispered right into Matsuda’s ear. The man choked on the air, pulling away and rushing to the elevator as Light let him go, laughing.

He continued down the hall to the door the guard had directed him to and knocked.

L was the only one in the room, which immediately reassured Light. If L had meant to catch him there, the whole investigative team would be present – probably in masks.

L gawped at him rather than telling him to come inside. Light basked in the attention, but when minutes dragged on he lost his patience. He stepped in, kissing the detective gently on the lips.

“Is this okay?”

“I’m dead,” L muttered, almost to himself. “You’ve killed me.”

“L, we actually have to go on the date before you can start that game,” Light chuckled. L scowled.

“Am I in hell?”

“L, seriously, we’ve got somewhere to be,” Light reminded the detective. He would be delighted by the man’s eagerness, but he had planned the night very carefully and it had been hard to get an invitation at the last moment. Also, the way L was talking, he didn’t really sound like he was joking.

“Definitely in hell,” L grumbled, leaving Light’s side and going to crouch in an armchair, his teeth nipping the fleshy pad of his thumb.

“L?” Light asked cautiously. “This isn’t funny…”

“How did you get my name?” L sounded sad.

“I already know your name, Rue,” Light scowled, confused.

“Not that name,” L muttered. “My real name. Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“L,” Light moved to crouch in front of the detective. “You’re not dead.”

“No one looks like that in real life,” L snapped at him. Light broke into laughter, terribly flattered but still rather startled. He reached up and removed the mask, showing his face. He caught L’s hand, pressing it to his cheek.

“I’m real,” Light assured him. “You’re real. You’re alive, L.”

“Prove it,” L demanded, the feel of skin on skin not enough for him.

“What would prove it to you?” Light wondered. L looked like he was considering seriously. Eventually the detective sighed.

“When you kill me,” L told him sternly.

“L…”

“I’ll know this is real life when you kill me,” L repeated. “Until then I’ll just have to go with it, I suppose.”

“I’m not killing you, L,” Light rejected.

“I’m not asking you to,” L looked sad again. “But if I still live, you will kill me some day, Kira. I’m L. I’m the one the world are relying on to stop you. This… all of this, it’s all too good to be true.”

“I’m flattered,” Light told him. “How about you pretend like you’re alive until proven otherwise?”

“Alright,” L nodded. He steeled. “Light?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have the Notebook with you?”

Of course, he didn’t. There was a very real possibility in his plans for the evening that he would be naked with L later, and there would be no where to hide the book. Ryuk was carrying it for him, though of course it still belonged to Light.

“What Notebook?” he asked, though there was no real deception in his voice, no honest attempt to hide from L that he knew what he was talking about.

“Which mask do you prefer?” L asked, as if it were part of the same conversation. He held out the box, all but shoving it into Light’s hands.

Light selected a white masquerade mask, fastening the ribbon behind L’s head.

“Perfect,” he assured, allowing his fingers to brush the nape of L’s neck. “Shall we go?”

* * *

 

The underground club was actually an old factory that was being used for the sheer amount of space available. It must have taken weeks to feed in the wiring for all the lights and the sound system, but the followers of Kira had always been enthusiastic in their support.

“I know what you’re like about taking time off work,” Light grinned at L as they made their way inside. From the outside there was no sign of the theme of this Halloween party, but within the banners proclaimed support for Kira, and Light’s eye particularly caught on the largest banner over the main stage; ‘Kira is our God’. So, the followers were starting to catch on. “I thought if I brought you here, it might not take your mind off things but you’d be more comfortable if you didn’t feel like you were ignoring the case.”

“Where did you even find out about this?” L asked, stunned.

“I monitor the pro-Kira chat rooms,” Light told him. “Looking for clues, of course.”

“Of course,” L nodded, glancing at Light. “You know, you might as well stay in character, _Kira._ ”

“So long as you understand that it’s just for the costume,” Light requested. He wasn’t sure, but L could easily have fitted himself with a wire. “And your fetish.”

“If that’s what you would like to pretend,” L agreed with a cheeky smile. “I shouldn’t argue with God.”

“Music to my ears, L,”

“Vanity, Kira,” L laughed, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him into the crowd; hundreds of supporters, dancing at the front, networking at the back. L dragged him all the way to the drinks table.

“Strawberry daiquiri and your best whisky,” L demanded, not letting Light order but predicting his taste in drinks.

“We cater to all budgets,” the bartender told L, glancing at his outfit. “You might prefer something other than our best.”

“What is it?” Light asked, moving forward so that L’s back was almost against his chest. The bartender glanced over him, spotting the expensive suit and the regal look spoiled only by the name badge that said Kira. He laughed as he spotted it.

“Hey, wearing something like that in here, you’re gonna get yourself mobbed,” the bartender told him. “And if the police show up you’re screwed.”

“That wasn’t what I asked,” Light’s voice had a commanding, warning tone. In front of him L relaxed back, leaning in to Light’s chest. He didn’t resist the temptation to loop his arms around his date’s waist.

“It’s a special edition Ardbeg 1993 – from the Authors' Series,” the man raised a judging eyebrow. “One measure is ten thousand yen.”

“A double, then,” Light demanded. However, before he could pay L had already presented the money, neatly folded, from a neat cash clip, pinched between two fingers. The bartender’s eyebrows had both raised then, but he served them their drinks.

“You like showing off,” Light noted to L.

“Maybe a little,” the detective grinned, “But then, so do you.”

“Guilty,” Light chuckled. He took a sip of his whisky, the complex flavours exploding on his tongue. “Shall we investigate?”

“You mean network,” L corrected, grinning. “I’d love to.”

* * *

 

 

 

The bartender had things backwards. Light was definitely more likely to be screwed by the Kira supporters than mobbed.

If it hadn’t been a date – with L – Light would have allowed the Kira supporters to cling to him, crooning words of praise and worship and perhaps even indulged with the prettier ones among them when they offered him sex.

However, it was a date, and so there was only so much Light was willing to put up with.

On the fifth time he had to move another person’s hand from his arse, he grabbed L’s hand and placed it there. The detective stood at arm’s length, awkward.

“Keep it there, then I can stop being molested by strangers every five minutes,” Light demanded. L nodded, stepping in to his side so that the gesture no longer looked so strange. “Would it help if I took off the name badge?”

“Probably not,” L’s expression was very serious, “Even if you don’t announce yourself as Kira, anyone looking at you tonight would know that you’re a God.”

Light delighted in the praise.

“You don’t seem to be concentrating on the Kira supporters,” Light pointed out to the detective, who shrugged.

“None of them will help me catch Kira,” L squeezed his fingers on Light’s arse.

“I thought you’d enjoy yourself here,” he was disappointed. “Should we have gone somewhere else?”

“I am enjoying myself,” L told him with a grin. “You’re here.”

“That’s… pathetically soppy,” Light laughed.

“Doesn’t matter,” L shrugged. “Dead anyway.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“If I’m not dead I will be soon,” L drew closer to Light, leaving no space between them. “Might as well make the most of it while it lasts.”

“Shall we dance?” Light suggested, glancing down at how they were pressed together. He led L out to the dancing area; the fast music didn’t suit the gentle rocking dance that they began, but Light didn’t care; he didn’t want to let L go. “L, even if I were Kira, you’ve basically told me that you’d support Kira if he was someone you approved of. Why would I kill you?”

L smiled, shaking his head. “Kira knows me to be a liar. He would not trust anything I said to him, even if it were the truth.”

“Is it?”

L tipped his head, asking silently.

“Is it the truth?” Light studied L’s wide eyes.

“Yes,” the detective breathed. “Light… you are Kira. I’ve known since January, and I suspected before that. If I had wanted to stop you, I would have…”

Light stilled their dancing, placing his hands on either side of L’s face so he would have no choice but to continue to meet his eyes.

“L,” he impressed the words, punctuating each one. “I will not kill you.”

“Is that a confession?” L’s tone sounded hopeful.

“No,” Light caught L’s hands, pulling him gently towards the exit. “But this just might be. Let me show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whisky price based on current conversion rates pounds-yen for that particular drink's current price; not saying you're going to find any anywhere it's pretty rare and totally irrelevant to the story anyway.


	4. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If I’m not dead, I only get one chance to save my life,” L shrugged. “And I am certain that Kira enjoys compliments.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry, I know I wanted to put this up last night but I got distracted by the super epic that is ZJ's Checkmate (It's worth catching up on, I'd recommend it).   
> Pure self-indulgence chapter. And Light indulgent, of course.

“Where are we going?” L asked as they got into Light’s car, which had been funded by his café job.

“My place, I guess,” Light considered. “Too many cameras at yours.”

“Go to a hotel,” L demanded instead. “I didn’t exactly tell your father we were going on a date tonight. Or that I know you, for that matter.”

“Fair point,” Light glanced at him as they pulled up at a stop sign. “Did you tell him that you think I’m Kira?”

“I did,” L didn’t look at all sheepish. “Don’t get mad at me, Light, you know what my job’s meant to be.”

“Still,” Light scowled. “He’s my dad.”

“You care about him, then?” L was curious, calculating.

“Of course I do,” Light flinched a little. “Actually, can I make you a deal? If this all goes south, family are off limits? Yours and mine.”

“No deal,” L responded quickly. “I don’t have one. Unless you’d be willing to count the other kids at the orphanage?”

“Oh. L, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“Would you count them? As family?” L suddenly lit up with an excited expression.

“Yeah, I guess,” Light spoke without thinking, off balance from the surprise revelation about L’s background.

“Deal then.”

“Wait,” Light hesitated, “They’re not all freaky geniuses out to get me like you, are they?”

“Not exactly like me.”

“Shit,” Light laughed, though internally he smarted at the trick. “See, I’ll have to keep you around now. You can keep them away?”

“They listen to me,” L nodded.

“Hey,” Light realised as he pulled the car into the nearest hotel’s car park. “Would I fall for that, if this was your hell?”

“Yes,” L shrugged. “God is fallible too.”

“But if this is hell, wouldn’t that make me…”

“Not the real Kira,” L answered firmly. Light blinked.

“It’s a bit over the top, L,” he scolded. “This act you’re putting on.”

“Forgive me,” L shuffled fidgeting feet. “I only get one chance at this, don’t I?”

Light scowled at him.

“If I’m not dead, I only get one chance to save my life,” L shrugged. “And I am certain that Kira enjoys compliments.”

“I do,” no point lying about that. “But I’d rather they were not lies.”

Light got out of the car, not waiting for L as he went to purchase them a room. L took a long time to get out of the car. He was on his phone, and Light watched him through the glass door, wondering what instructions the detective was giving. It could easily be him making arrangements to catch Kira; or telling someone that if he didn’t survive the night they need only pull footage from this hotel to corroborate the story he was telling them and prove Light’s guilt.

However, he wasn’t going to back down now. They were both too entrenched in this game; each trying to claim the other. To call someone to catch Kira, that wouldn’t be winning. That would be cheating, and Light didn’t think L was a cheat.

“I’m going to show you how Kira kills,” Light told L once they were locked into their room for the night. L had taken up his usual crouch on the end of the bed, leaving Light standing.

“You’re going to kill me?”

“No,” Light chuckled. “You must know some prisoner out there who deserved death, but who didn’t get it? All I need is a name and a face.”

“I knew it,” L beamed, “so why could the second Kira kill with just a face? Did the Shinigami tell them what the person’s name was? What…”

“L,” Light interrupted. “I’m explaining. You don’t need to ask so many questions.”

L looked more like he wanted to bounce on the bed like an excited child than wait patiently. Light glanced to Ryuk, who brought the Notebook across. It became visible once he took it out of the pouch with his own Note, which caused L to almost leave the bed, only stopped by a glare from Light.

“Name and a face L,” he reminded. “A prisoner you can check has died.”

L pulled out his flip phone, searching for a photograph.

“Unnecessary,” Light snapped it shut. “Do you have someone in mind?”

“Yes,” L nodded eagerly.

“Well then, I’m going to give you a gift,” Light told him, tearing a page from the notebook and handing it to L. “I’m trusting you not to just write my name.”

L held the single sheet up between two pinched fingers. It didn’t feel any different to normal paper. He didn’t feel any different holding it.

He suddenly froze, spotting the edge of a wing beside him. Slowly he followed it back to its source – to Ryuk.

“A Shinigami,” he whispered in wonder.

“Hey, nice to meet ya,” Ryuk waved lazily. “Hey Light, does that mean I can get apples now?”

Light had requested a fruit bowl for their room, filled with apples, so he had one to throw to Ryuk.

“L, did you know, Gods of Death love apples,” L grinned. “Cocky bastard.”

“You should hear the dramatic monologues,” Ryuk laughed. “And the evil laugh. Light, do the evil laugh?”

“I don’t do an evil laugh.”

“Oh, you so do.”

“And the monologues?” L chipped in.

“Usually about you,” Ryuk poked L in the back, evidently trying to topple him out of his crouch but failing.

“I suppose I was causing a lot of trouble for Light-kun.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t just about the case,” Ryuk told him gladly. “All that flirting really got him wound tight, Lawls.”

“Lawls?” Light scowled.

L lounged on the bed beside Ryuk, his back to Light.

“Tell me more,” L demanded.

“Had to send me out of the room every time you came to the café,” Ryuk giggled. “Only did that for one thing.”

Ryuk pointed both index fingers at his crotch.

“Ryuk, you said you weren’t on L’s side either,” Light pointed out, taking one of the apples from the bowl and taking a bite.

“Aww, but he’s fun,” Ryuk complained, but left the bed to collect the entire bowl of apples, tucking them into his lap and under his wing when he curled up on the floor, his back against the bed.

“I have so many questions…” L frowned.

“How about you start with the most important one,” Light held out a pen.

L took it, looking for instructions.

“It’s not hard, you just picture the face and write the name.”

Ryuk giggled from the floor. Light watched as L considered, then wrote a name; not his.

“In forty seconds the person whose name you have written will die of a heart attack,” Light told him, gesturing to the phone. “You’ll be able to check?”

“How does Kira kill in other ways?” L asked quickly.

“L…”

“Forty seconds for questions.”

“…Fine. If you write the name, and in the forty seconds the way the person dies, then that’s how it’ll happen. So long as it isn’t impossible.”

“Your experiments?”

“Yes,” Light nodded. “Ryuk isn’t all that helpful. I had to find out the limits of what it could do for myself.”

“The lim… oh!”

Light understood what L was feeling at that moment. Forty seconds had ticked by, and then a rush, a thrill. When Light first felt it, he had been afraid and in shock a little at having killed. L, on the other hand, was feeling it fresh and untainted; he had known exactly what he was doing when he wrote the name.

Which made it even more of a wonder to Light that he had written it at all. He wouldn’t back down, wouldn’t be the one to lose this game. But to kill for it? It was further than Light had expected him to go.

His respect for the detective grew. As did his desire.

He knew L would feel it too.

He had worried that he was losing his mind at first, when writing in the Death Note and killing criminals had physically aroused him. It had almost been enough to make him set aside the Note in those first couple of days, but his doubt was gone by the time Ryuk found him. And, he hadn’t already been on edge when using the Notebook. L was.

“Want to check if the criminal died?”

“Huh?” L looked completely spaced out, the usual intelligence missing from his eyes. L did look at the phone, but shook his head. “I don’t need to.”

Light approached the bed, using the gesture he had used to get Ryuk to leave while they were being monitored with hidden cameras to communicate that he wanted privacy. Ryuk laughed, phasing through the floor. The bowl clattered to the ground, empty of apples.

L had the pen and paper on his knee, and had already started to write more names. Light sat beside him on the bed watching the list grow longer.

“There’s a lot of them, huh?” he questioned as L wrote frantically.

“Do you know how frustrating it is, to catch these people and see them get life sentences? They didn’t give their victims life, they killed them. Why should they live on? What justice is that?”

“L,” Light gently covered the detective’s hand with his. “Not too many, too soon. You’ll draw attention…”

L dropped the pen and paper as if burned; forty seconds since he wrote the second name. His eyes drooped closed, and he leaned into Light’s side.

“Light-kun, it’s like being high,” L giggled, stroking Light’s leg as if it were some sort of furry animal.

“And you have a lot of experience with that do you?” Light laughed.

“Hmmm.”

“Well, guess that explains the constant sugar cravings,” Light moved, pressing a hand gently on L’s shoulder, tipping him over as easily as a feather so that his back hit the bed, his legs still folded in to his chest. It made the angle awkward, but Light kissed him anyway.

L’s eyes snapped open, still glazed but searching.

“Kira-kun?”

“Want me to stop?” Would he, if L asked him to? He wouldn’t mean it – he didn’t have Light’s restraint. Even his impeccable self-control broke down when using that brilliant Notebook.

But then L leapt up from the bed, launching himself into Light’s lap and shoving him down onto his back with a strength that Light hadn’t imagined he would possess, lanky as he was. Fur lined cuffs snapped around Light’s wrists before he could move away, binding them together.

This wasn’t right. He was Kira; he was the one who was meant to be in control. He should be handcuffing L, if anything.

But then L was everywhere and nowhere, and Light rapidly gave up the ability to think about power and control.

L’s mouth on Light’s neck while his long fingers were tearing open his shirt and his feet with their clever toes untied his shoelaces. Teeth pulling open the zip of his trousers as hands tugged at his belt and feet removed his socks. Tongue lapping upwards towards his belly button, delving in to the ticklish spot whilst hands stroked over his newly bared arse as those feet drew down his opened trousers.

“L, slow down,” Light chuckled, trying to avoid the detective’s hands before they could go to his cock, already half hard.

The detective gazed at him with wide pleading eyes, for all purposes looking like a kicked puppy.

“You could at least get undressed,” Light suggested gently. L nodded, nipping teeth around a fingertip as he moved away to do so, but stilled, staring. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s a shame I’m dead,” L mumbled around his thumb. “But at least it’s heaven.”

“L…”

“Don’t lie to me,” L snapped. His eyes raked over Light, his evenly tanned skin, his perfectly sculpted muscles – nothing there that was excessively large but showing his strength and fitness. Settling at his rapidly hardening cock which was beginning to jut out straight in front of him.

He moved again, fingers tearing at his own clothing and shedding it quickly, leaving the masquerade mask in place. Light realised he was still wearing his, too.

“Let me see you,” Light demanded when L moved too quickly over him again.

“No,” L snapped it too quickly; insecure, then, about his appearance.

“That wasn’t a request.”

L froze, but moved away, giving Light space to sit up and see him.

He was indeed as wiry as he looked in his clothes, long limbs gangly and a bit ungainly. Even Light wouldn’t have denied that L wasn’t an attractive man, not conventionally. But Light had never been attracted by appearances before, the prettiness of the physical form drawing little interest from him, and he wasn’t interested in L because of his looks.

What startled Light were the scars, line after line cut across L’s chest and thighs, hidden from the world by his clothing.

“Who…”

“A friend,” L shrugged, avoiding his gaze.

“Not much of a friend then,” Light scowled. L, trying to escape the scrutiny, moved back over Light, hand wrapping a little too tightly around his cock.

“Don’t tell me to stop now,” L’s tone was pleading.

“I won’t,” Light assured, bucking his hips up into L’s hand. The detective stroked firmly, his eyes never leaving Light’s, the constant stare slightly off putting. With his other hand he sucked his fingers into his mouth, covering them in his sugary spit. Those fingers went to trace around Light’s arse whilst he was otherwise distracted, circling his entrance gently.

His eyes caught Light’s with a question.

“I’d rather be inside you,” Light suggested, not quite refusing. L’s fingers moved away, nodding. He reached behind himself, Light grinning as he watched the detective’s expression change with the sensation as he began to prepare himself. “Have you done this before?”

L shook his head, beyond words.

“Go slowly,” Light instructed, “Just one finger at first. Relax, don’t rush it.”

L fixed unblinking eyes on Light’s as he followed the instruction, gasping as he slid the digit inside.

“If you let the handcuffs off, I can do that for you,” Light suggested. L shook his head. “You like me instructing you?”

“Yes, Kira-kun,” L breathed. Light grinned; he might be the one in cuffs, but he was in control.

“You like being commanded by God?” Light teased, grinning. If L had been in his right mind at that point, he would have commented on Light’s vanity. Too bad he was too far gone.

“Yes, Kira-kun,” he repeated instead, Light’s cock forgotten for now as he teased himself.

“You need to find something better than spit,” Light told him, “the bathroom?”

L nodded, biting his lip. He moved off the bed, but rather than going to the bathroom he retrieved a small bottle from his jeans pocket.

“You came prepared?”

“You told me to bring the handcuffs,” L pointed out, coating his hand with the lubrication.

“Too much,” Light chuckled, but L didn’t listen, moving back into position straddling Light and returning to preparing himself. “Is it sore?”

L shook his head.

“A second finger, then,” Light instructed. L tried eagerly, but flinched a little. “Not so fast. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

L tried again, more steadily, managing this time.

“Curl them,” Light commanded, “until you feel it.”

“Feel what?” L puzzled, but did as instructed. A few moments later his eyes popped wider.

“That,” Light chuckled.

“Oh.”

Light should have felt neglected, laid beneath L untouched as he was, but he couldn’t image anything more wonderful than this; L hanging on to his every word, following his commands and gaining pleasure as a result.

By the end of the night, even if this were all a trick to catch Kira, L would be too busy eating out of his palm to actually try to catch him.

“I can’t… I… if I wait any longer…”

“You’re not ready,”

“I am! Please, Kira-”

“God,” Light interrupted. “Call me God.”

“God, please, let me…”

“Alright,” Light grinned, “if you’re sure you’re ready.”

“I am, God, I am,” L positioned himself over Light’s cock, sliding down. He was tight, extremely so, but Light was impressed with his determination as he took in Light’s cock in one effort, right to the base. It seemed he was ready after all.

“L,” he instructed. “The page.”

L snatched it from where it had fallen on the bed, offering it to Light’s bound hands. Light chuckled.

“I want to see you kill for me,” Light told him. “I want you writing names as you ride me, as you please your God.”

L stared at him, spurred into action only when Light bucked his hips up into him; he let the Notebook fall open on Light’s bare chest, scrabbling through the covers for the pen.

“No names yet,” Light demanded, “The method of death first.”

L did as he was told, continuing to move on Light’s cock. His tight heat felt glorious, and it took all of Light’s precious self-control not to moan shamelessly. He was getting closer, but not close enough…

“Names, now,” Light commanded. “Fill the page.”

The pen scratched across his chest on the single page, the ink faintly soaking through onto his skin, inscribing them there too.

L wrote, eyes wide and hand shaking. Light held himself together, restraining the building pressure within him, the need to release.

L threw the pen across the room, grabbing at Light’s shoulders for leverage as he moved, faster and harder.

Forty seconds as pleasure built, and then they came apart together, drifting in bliss.

"Heaven," L panted as they recovered. "Definitely heaven."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially, I was going to put a conclusion on this - tell you whether this was all a play from L to catch Kira, tell you what the phone call was, tell you who won.  
> I've decided to leave it open ended, so you can make your own decision on that. So I'm ending it here. Hope that's okay?


End file.
